Dutch pedophile society to appeal Supreme Court ban

Former members of the Dutch pedophile society have announced they will challenge a Supreme Court ban on their organization. They argue the prohibition of the group that advocates adult-child sexual relations is a violation of their freedom of speech.

The organization’s lawyer Gerard Spong told Dutch press on
Tuesday he planned to appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights to overturn the ban on the pedophile society. According to
Spong the appeal will be lodged with the Court no later than
October.

Former members of the pedophile society, also known as Vereniging
MARTIJN, take issue with an April Supreme Court ban on
the organization that decreed its existence was a threat to
public order and a danger to minors. Spong argues the ban on the
group is an affront to the members’ freedom of expression and
association and plans to have it overturned.

"Although in general great caution must be taken when banning
a society, the unusually serious actions of Vereniging MARTIJN,
which are geared towards removing potential barriers for those
seeking sexual relations with children, force the verdict that
the organization be forbidden and dismantled," the judge
ruled in April.

The organization itself was founded in 1982, but only hit
headlines in 2007 when photos of crown Prince Willem-Alexander’s
children were published on the group’s forum. The ensuing court
case forced MARTIJN to take the photos down and ruled they would
have to pay a 50,000 euro if they ever put a photo of the
prince’s children up again.

Since 2010, the organization has been locked in an ongoing legal
battle with the Public Prosecutor Service. Following the arrest
of organization leader Ad van den Berg for the possession of
child pornography in 2011, MARTIJN’s existence was upheld by the
Ministry of Security on the basis that the group’s activities
were not punishable.

In 2012, another court ruled the organization should be banned as
it glorified sexual relations between adults and children. This
ruling was overturned that same year by a court in the northern
town of Leeuwarden, which argued that while the organization’s
existence was contrary to public order, there was no evidence to
prove it was “a threat of disrupting society.”

From 1986 until 2006, the organization published a quarterly
magazine which was only available by post to members. The
publication contained images of naked children and letters from
readers describing sexual experiences with underage children,
reports the Independent.